More Money, More Power for Asian Militaries

Asian countries ramped up their defense spending in 2013, while military budgets in the West continued to dwindle as a share of the global total.

The Asia-Pacific region accounted for 24% of the $1.538 trillion spent worldwide last year, according to an annual defense budgets review published by IHS Jane’s on Feb. 4. By the end of the decade, it predicted, Asia’s share will have risen to 28%, highlighting an eastward power shift as Western budgets stagnate and Asian budgets continue growing.

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